Rules committee forwards Midtown Park Apartments exemption to full board

The San Francisco Rules Committee voted to forward an ordinance exempting the city-owned Midtown Park Apartments from Administrative Code Chapter 6 to the full Board of Supervisors with a committee recommendation.

The exemption would allow the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development to contract directly for a broader, expedited scope of repairs at Midtown Park Apartments, while requiring compliance with the prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules in Administrative Code Section 23.61 and affirming a Planning Department determination under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Sheila Nicolopoulos, Director of Policy at the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, told the committee the building, built in 1964, is a 140-unit family housing development spread across six buildings in the Western Addition. "No major repairs have been made to Midtown since the time of construction," Nicolopoulos said, noting boilers and original plumbing from 1964 have led to repeated boiler replacements and other urgent capital needs. She said the property currently holds 34 vacancies to allow for on-site tenant relocation during repairs.

Nicolopoulos said the requested exemption would speed repairs — including roof replacement, installation of a fire sprinkler system, window replacement to address water intrusion, plumbing replacement and seismic/soft-story improvements — by allowing the city to contract with vendors experienced in tenant-occupied rehabilitations. She said Certificates of Participation bonds included in the 2023–24 budget will fund the work and that all construction will be performed under prevailing wage rules and overseen by a designated construction manager.

Committee members asked about opportunities for local contractors. A project manager for the department said standard procurement steps — requests for qualifications/requests for proposals and Small Business Enterprise contracting requirements — would still apply under the proposed approach, and that the city would still run competitive solicitations.

There were no members of the public who offered comment on the item during the committee hearing.

On a committee motion, the item was forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation. The clerk recorded the vote as Vice Chair Cheryl (aye), Member Mandelmann (absent), and Chair Walton (aye). The committee report will advance the ordinance to the board for final consideration.